All In: ALL IN KNIGHTS OF MAYHEM (13 page)

Leo

I listen as the door slams, the reverberation rattles my heart, I had done it and I hope the boss is fucking happy now. I had to lie to her again this morning, I wasn’t due in court although I had been arrested for drunk and disorderly a few months ago, Kent had so graciously gotten the charges dropped.
I do how ever have to go over to the prison, not wanting to run into Avery I am guessing I will have to wait until Thursday. There are a few things I need to discuss with a certain inmate.

A slight knock at the door disturbs my little pity party I had going on, ‘
what?”

“Um Leo,’ the small voice belongs to Alice
, our shop manager. I stand and pull the crack in the door fully open when she offers me a check, ‘Avery left this for you.”

Jerking her hand free of the small slip of paper I take off to get
to her, when I reach the front of the compound I am just in time to watch her truck hesitate at the gate and see her looking back in the rearview, I rip the check up and toss it in the can next to the steps, ‘Fuck Me!”

Dalton rounds the corner wiping his hands on a greasy towel, ‘she leave?”

Looking at him I lace my eyebrows together, ‘what the fuck do you think?”

He drops the cloth and comes up to stand beside me, ‘so you did
it uh, what the boss wanted?”

Pulling the half empty pack of smokes from my breast pocket I light one up, I have been smoking like a freight train since I met Avery, ‘yeah
, I was a prick. Keep an eye on her, you are going to be over at her place anyway,’ I pull the office door open, ‘and Dalton don’t let her do anything stupid.”

“Sure man, do you want hourly updates or will one call a day suffice?” Watching her leave had taken all the fight out of me or I would have ripped him a new
one for being such an ass.

Taking a deep breath, ‘
yeah let me know what she is up to, be smart about it okay?” I look at him and know he is on the other end of being stealthy. I let the door hit my back as the automatic spring pulls it shut. I have really fucked this situation up but what is new. Sucking it up I have work I have to do.

****

Avery

The
next few days pass in a fog I go to work and then I come home, sadly to say is the way of it. I would mentally kick myself every few minutes, I had only known Leo four days and he had wrecked my world and turned my emotions on their heels.

I staggered through days, and tossed throu
gh the nights. My reflection had started to resemble something from The Walking Dead and the constant nagging by Piper had grated my last thread of nerves.

I was working through one of those tidal wave of emotions
at my station in the prison when Zach interrupted me, ‘Avery babe why the screwed up face?” Zach was a guard in his late twenties and works out, a lot. His sandy blonde hair is cut high and tight as with all Marines, he fought in Iraq and then took his walking papers when they offered them.

“Uh? Oh
not anything I really want to say out loud.” I give him a weak smile, which those are about all I can manage here lately too, weak, pathetic little ole me.

Zach drags a
stool over next to the metal table I had been trying to do paper work on, ‘you can tell me just about anything, I am sure.” He begins to fumble with a pen I had laid down.

Running my hands trough my hair I give him a once over, Zach isn’t bad looking he just isn’t
Leo, oh mother fucker did I just do that? I did just compare another man to Leo, is this how the rest of my life is going to be like? Standards for which no one will ever add up to.

He nudges me with his elbow, ‘go ahead tell ole Zach what is going on.” His eye slight with youth.

“Oh just man problems, ya know?” I look down avoiding his searching gaze.

“Really
, when did you start dating someone?” I detect a little hurt in his voice, seeing how Zach has been trying to get me to go out with him for the past three months.

“We just started kinda sort of seeing each other but he is so not my type.” I lay my hands flat on the table and do a full body shiver, because personality wise he is a jackass but god ole mighty he can play my body till it sings with pleasure like an orchestrated pro.

“Interesting, who is it?” He ruins his hands over his stubbled jaw as his mouth curves with a curious grin, ‘because I might have to kick his ass.”

I inwardly laugh at his last statement not wanting to bruise
Zach’s ego, but kicking Leo’s ass is not an option, ‘there will be no need for that, Leo and I pretty much went our separate ways.”

“Oh okay, wait a minute
, Leo?” His eyes flash with recollection, ‘Leo Tucker, the one who owns the kick ass bike shop down on Alamance Street?” Then it really hits him, ‘the same Leo who is President of the Knights of Mayhem?” Admiration crosses his face as he puts the pieces together.

I clear my throat jarring him from his little trip on the star struck express, I have found in the past couple of days Leo is a somewhat
a celebrity in these parts How I had never heard of him until now is a mystery to me, seeing how too Piper’s brother is a member of his band of merry men.

“B
ut like I said Zach, no need to get all excited, it is over and done with. Now if you will let me get back to my paper work so I can go home, I have a day off tomorrow.” I turn my eyes down and try and focus at the immediate task at hand, having absolutely zero success at it. Talking about Leo had brought up memories I had been working all week to suppress.

Standing he stretches his long arms over his head, ‘sure babe, see ya
Friday.” He leans in and grazes my cheek with his lips. I close my eyes and see a tuft of black hair sweep by in front of my eyes, and hear the low gravelly voice of Leo. Shit, the man has ruined me forever.

****

It is Friday afternoon and I am still struggling with my Leo hangover. My joints ache and I find it difficult to be interested in anything for any length of time. Piper doesn’t help the situation by parading Dalton around the apartment. The day off on Thursday hadn’t done any good to make me feel better. I had just laid around all day wallowing in misery. I should have known better to tangle with a master at breaking hearts.

“Call him.”
She takes a chip out of the bag and tosses it into her mouth, ‘shouldn’t she, Dalton?” she pokes him with her toe as he sits at the end of our couch slumped down watching the TV, ‘pay attention, damnit.”

“She should what?” He sits up taking his beer from the table and finishes it off.

“Avery should call Leo.” She states more of a declaration than asking Dalton what he thinks.

He leans back, ‘yeah
, if she wants.” He is no help and hasn’t in the past four days, divulged one bit of information about Leo and what he has been up to. I am going nuts wondering and not knowing, I let him under my skin and I give myself hypothetical kicks in the ass everyday for doing so.

Piper slaps his shoulder, ‘you are no help Dal
ton,’ refocusing her attention to me, ‘anyway you should call him because didn’t he say you guys were playing this game your way? So he may be waiting for you to ya know, play it your way Avery.” She redirects her attention back to Dalton, ‘he is waiting for her isn’t he Dalton?”

Dalton shrugs his shoulders, ‘he is not mine to baby sit.” But the look on his face told me everything I needed to know and the thought made my stomach churn. He hasn’t waited, oh god I bet it was
Mavis, he took that skank into his bed just like she said he would.

“
Avery, you look green.” Dalton points out, ‘and to save you from having to eat lunch again, no he has been going home alone every night.”

“It's about time you ease her pain
, ass wipe.” Piper jumps up and heads for the table in the foyer where I keep my phone, ‘here, call him, now. And put both of you guys out of this misery.”

I push my phone
and her hand away, ‘no Piper, I think it is best we keep it this way, ya know with the somewhat clean break before I had too much invested in him. We should just stay away from each other,’ I push myself up from the couch, ‘I have to get ready, I pulled the late shift today.” I stumble down the hall to my room with my head still filled with thoughts of him being with another woman.

****

It seems like everywhere I go now, if I hear the loud rumble of pipes, I turn and search for him. If I see a black car, my mind registers it as a Camaro, Leo’s black Camaro.

Dalton had give me a funny look when I had left for work, the two to ten shift was not my favorite but it was always the most uneventful
. Due to the prisoners being locked down in their cells. Mostly just running through the usual cold, fever or having to change a bandage or two.

I walk through the door and I am greeted by Manny, ‘hey girl
, pulled the late shift uh?”

Smiling at him, he was older as his dark hair was peppered with white and a little grey, ‘yeah, been busy today?” I sign in and take my badge.

“No but who knows,’ he turns and points out of the window, ‘full moon is when the crazies come out to play.”

“Yeah, see ya later.” I am buzzed through and follow Zach,
as he leads me down the lime green hall to the infirmary. There was one patient waiting for me as an uneasy feeling engulfed me.

“You have one tonight, girl I will be right outside. Holler if you need anything.” He
turns and walks to the door, I appreciate the view as he walks to the windowed door.

“Night Zachy.” I give him a curt wave stopping him, he turns and comes back to me.

“Avery baby just say the word and I will be all over you.” His hand has found my waist and is tugging on my scrubs. I had considered him months ago to but, Leo has ruined me for anyone else plus the fact I am at least five years older than him gives me pause.

“Zach
, thank you but honey workplace romance is frowned upon.” I can feel his hot breath tickling my cheek.

“Romance isn’t what I want to do to this body.” The hairs on the back of my neck stand up as Leo’s voice rings through my ears.

Pushing him away, ‘and ruin our friendship, not ever.” I turn taking the chart for the patient hoping Zach can see that his window of opportunity has closed.

Lightly laughing, ‘babe just say the word, is all you gotta do.”
He tugs one more time on the side of my shirt and then he is out of the door.

“Nurse.” A gruff voice from behind the curtain calls.

“Just a sec let me-“ but before I can get the words out I am pushed face first up against the wall. There is a large hand holding the back of my head so I cannot turn to see who it is. My legs are kicked apart them my arms are restrained to either side of me.

Then the hot smelly breath is at my ear, ‘you scream,’ I feel a sharp poke at my side, ‘I will end you.”

I feel as a rough callused hand tugs my shirt up and is on the soft skin at my side, ‘um do you know how long it has been since I felt a woman’s soft skin?”

I whimper, ‘please don’t
, I want tell anyone if you just st-“

“
Shut up bitch, this has nothing to do with you. I need to get a message to that asshole boyfriend of yours.”

Shaking my head the best I can, ‘we aren’t together anymore
, I swear.” I press my eyes together as the hand travels down under the waist band of my pants. His gruff fingers tug at my panties, another whimper escapes my throat.

“Shut up
, I would hate to have to hurt pretty boy out there,’ his hand travel further down under my panties. I winch as he breaks the folds as he does he licks my ear, ‘um god I had forgotten, so fucking sweet especially the ones that take care of themselves like you do.”

I feel the tear leave the corner of my eye and concentrate on the trail that it makes down my cheek. His hand has forced its way in and is roughly making me jerk with each
harsh thrust.

“You don’t have to do this, please.” I beg as I strain against the hands that are holding my wrists.

“He has to know shit will not be let go, you can't make a deal and then go back on it. So I have decided to make you my new plaything. Taking what is his as mine, then sending you back used up.” His gruff nasty smelling laugh makes me gag, I didn’t not know what I done until after I hear him cuss. The vomit had run down his left leg and pooled around his foot.

“You stupid fucking cunt.” He slammed my head into the wall, ‘now you fucking listen, tell Leo boy that if the shit doesn’t show up there in two days, there is no where he can hide you
from me.” This time he takes a hand full of my hair in his hands shoving my face so hard into the wall it knocks me out.

****

Leo

It had been
five days since I had sent Avery packing, for her own good. Dalton had been spending every moment possible at the girl’s apartment keeping me up to date on Avery. I know it was a shitty thing to do but I had to know every detail, what she said and how she was doing. According to Dalton she was doing about as good as I was.

I was sitting at my desk in the shop
staring off into dead air when my phone rang, looking at the screen the caller id announced it was Dalton with another update, ‘hey man, what’s up?”

“Uh, not much just Avery pulled the night shift at the pokey tonight. She left about forty five minutes ago.”
His voice was barely above a whisper.

“Really? That is unusual,
’ I could hear the sound of water running in the back ground, ’are you taking a piss while you are on the phone with me jackass?”

“Um yea
, I have to have an excuse to be alone somehow.” The toilet flushes and then the sound of him washing his hands fills the air.

“It's still
disgusting,‘ I pause taking in a deep breath, ‘but thanks man, I owe you one.”

“Yea you do, Piper finds out I am here spying
, she will have my nuts in a vice.”

“What
and she doesn’t already?” Dalton and his lovesick antics have been fuel for the constant ribbing from the guys around the shop.

“Fuck you
because I do believe you are the one who sent me here to spy on a girl you kicked out of your bedroom.” His voice laced with smugness because he knows he has me on this.

“Yea well
-‘ I am interrupted by Roman throwing open my office door in a panic.

“
Avery is at the hospital, she was attacked at work tonight by one of the inmates.” I don’t know what happened between the shop and the hospital, the only thing on my mind, was getting to her. Thank the people above Roman was driving. After raising the fucking roof in the emergency room I was let back to see her. When I walk into her room my pulse raced and I had to wipe my hands down my jeans to dry them. My heart stopped when I saw her, the soft delicate skin of her face is a mess. Her left eye is swollen shut and her hair is a tangled mess of blood.

I turn and go
back out and flip open my phone to call her Dad.

“I did what you ask and now Avery is at the fucking hospital because I wasn’t around to keep an eye on her, are you fucking happy?” I hang up before he can get a
chance to reply to my statement, knowing I couldn’t have done anything about what happen but I can now so my next call is one way over due to the prison informing them Avery will not be back.

****